The Story of the Kitten

When Logan exited Jenny's room, he noticed that Rogue and Remy were already gone and figured they had already returned to the Professor's office. He was about to head that direction when he realized that Jenny didn't know where that was. He sighed, leaned up against the wall, and pulled out a cigar. He put it between his lips, lit it, and waited. This girl was something special but he didn't know why. He just had this overwhelming need to protect her. Not the same way he did for Rogue; that was more of a fatherly feeling. This was more of a "she's mine, back off" feeling. He had no idea what had happened, but he had gone from locking out potential girlfriends to opening up in an instant. He sighed and dragged on his cigar, releasing a puff of smoke.

"Ya know dat's not healthy for ya, right?" Logan jumped and opened his eyes, the petite redhead standing next to him. She had the sweetest smile on her face, but her eyes held worry; worry for him he soon realized. He let out a little laugh. 'If only she knew,' he thought. Her expression changed to that of curiosity, with a slight underlying tone of hurt. He sighed, pushed off the wall, and walked the few steps to his door. He went inside, took one more long drag, and then doused the cigar on his dresser. When he walked out, he saw Jenny sitting on the stair banister, looking very much like a cat. She stood, did a little spin, and jumped down, landing right in front of him.

"That's better!" she exclaimed, a smile plastered on her face. He just shook his head and chuckled.

"Come on. Time to go talk to the Professor," Logan said as he put his hand on the small of her back, leading her down the stairs. He felt her lean into his touch and she let out a soft sigh, one that anyone else's ears would never have picked up. He smiled to himself and didn't move his hand away until they were at the door to the professor's office. He opened the door for her and she whispered a breathy 'thank you' as she entered. Everyone was already there, including the other mutant Professor Xavier had wanted to introduce her to personally.

"Jenny, this is Warren Worthington III. Warren, this is Jenny LeBeau. She's Remy's little sister," Professor X explained.

"Hi. Nice t' meet ya!" Jenny said enthusiastically, shaking his hand. Warren smiled down at her in a way that made her blush. Jenny started wondering why there were so many gorgeous men at the Xavier Institute. She shook her head to clear it of these thoughts, no matter how true they might be. His wings were so white and luxurious looking that she had to fight the urge to reach out and touch them.

"It's very nice to meet you too," Warren said, tilting his head down and bringing her hand up for a kiss. Logan tried his hardest not to growl and that shocked him. He was jealous. He didn't want Warren to touch her or look at her in any way that made her blush like that. Jenny looked back at him, smiled, and then winked. Good thing Logan was leaning against the wall or else he would have been so surprised he would have needed one to stay standing. Apparently, she felt the same attraction that he did. Warren walked away and moved back behind the Professor's desk, behind the Professor's right shoulder.

"Jenny," Xavier said, "Please, have a seat. We are all very interested to hear your story." Jenny sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Logan sat on the corner of the desk, Remy sat on the arm of Jenny's chair, and Rogue took a seat in the remaining chair. Suddenly, he door opened and in walked Scott, Jean, Storm, and Beast. They stood quietly in the back, Xavier obviously wanting them to hear. Jenny looked back at them for a few seconds, before turning back around towards the Professor. She smiled slightly when she noticed that Logan's eyes had never left her. She started fiddling with her hands in her lap and looked down, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Go on Jenny. We're not here to judge. We just want to help," Xavier told her, encouraging her to tell her story.

"Alright, wehl, Remy and Ah were just lil kids when we found out we were mutants. I guess Remy started to know before meh, because for as long as Ah can ramember heh was out "working" to get us food. Mama wasn't allowed ta get food or even go inta town. Remy became a thief t' take care of us. Heh whaent home a lot, but when he was he always made time fo meh. But when my powahs started comin in, Ah couldn't really control it. Da people in town found out ahn our famly was in trouble. So Remy left ta go try ta find…"work" somewheh else. Ah had to hide and Mama had ta tell everyone dat she had gotten rid 'a meh…permahtley. Den evryting gat wurse. Remy," she paused to look over at her brother. He had been holding her hand and she laid her other one on top of his.

"Mama's dead. Dat's how dey found meh. She didn't come inta town like usual and dey came ta check on her. Ah wanted ta give 'er a real funeral. So Ah was buryin 'er in da backyard. Ah had just finished wen dey showed up. Ah barely made it out alive. Day followed meh inta da swamps ahn Ah had ta run for my life. I hid der all nite ahn all da next day. Finally, Ah had ta go back ta eat ahn get some stuff. Ah had ta run away. So Ah went back home and got as much of my stuff together as possible but dey came back. Dey chased meh away, but dis time didn't follow. I watched from da trees as dey burned our home down. Evry memory, evry belonging, and evryting of Mama's is gone now. Den dey decided ta come afta meh again. I don know what woulda happened to meh if Professor Xavier hadn't saved meh." And with that, Jenny was crying in Remy's arms. Logan wanted badly to be the one to comfort her, but knew her brother needed to be the one. She sniffed and composed herself, wiping her eyes.

"Ah'm sorry. It's just such a hard topic right now…" she said as she sniffed. A few more tears escaped before she could compose herself completely. Logan reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. She smiled up at him and he moved his hand away, clearing his throat.

"Are you ok to show everyone your power?" Xavier asked as he came out from behind his desk. "You can wait if you would like. I just think everyone here would be interested to know what you can do."

"No, no. I'll be fine." And with that, Jenny stood and moved away from the group of mutants. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and her entire body began to shimmer. Everyone gasped as her body began to change into that of a feline's. She stood upright, like a werewolf, but with the body of a cat. Her black and red fur like that of a tiger's. Then her body shimmered again and she was standing on all fours, nothing showing her as anything less than an actual tiger. And finally, once more her body shimmered and she shrunk down to the size of a tabby cat.

"Dis," she spoke in the little voice of a kitten, "is how Ah hid for all dose years. I was my Mama's companion. Dey never suspected a ting…" There was sadness in her voice. Her body shimmered once again and she stood up, back in her human form. Logan couldn't lie; he had found that very hot. Her feline body was very sexy and he couldn't help the way he was feeling towards her. God, he didn't know what to do. He didn't even know how old she was! But it didn't matter.

"Alright everyone. That's it for tonight. You can all go back to your previous plans," Professor X announced. Everyone left but Rogue, Remy, Jenny, and Logan. "I'm very proud of you Jenny. That must have been very hard for you to do."

"Not really. Ah mean, Ah don have ta hide here. Ah'm free t' actually be myself. I love it here already," she said as she wrapped an arm around Remy's. "Thank ya for evrythin, Professor. I'll never forget what ya did for meh." Xavier just smiled.

"It's what I do Jenny. I help mutants in need. Goodnight. I hope you sleep well."

"Oh Ah know Ah will. Ahn goodnight t' you too," Jenny said as she waved and exited his office with the others.

"Do ya want Remy to walk ya up?"

"No thanks brothe," Jenny said with a smile. "Go have fun. Ah'm just gonna go t' bed. Ah'm exhausted. Night brothe," she whispered as she kissed him on the cheek. "Night Rogue. Nice ta meet ya." With that, Jenny and Logan headed upstairs together.

"Would ya look at that! Ah think something's going on between the Kitten and the Wolverine!" Rogue joked as her and Remy headed to the living room for a movie before bed.

"Remy don't tink dat would be too bad, now would it Cherie?" Remy asked, leaning in close to her ear. He brushed a strand of her hair away and lay a quick kiss on her neck.

"Nah, Sugah. It wouldn't be so bad," she said with a smile before realizing what Remy had just done. "Remy LeBeau!!! How many times do Ah gotta tell ya!?!" And with that, Rogue was once again chasing Remy up the stairs.

"Thanks for walkin me up, but ya really didn't have t'," Jenny whispered as she took a step closer to Logan. He had one hand on the wall and the other was in his pocket. She was playing with a little locket around her neck; anything to keep her hands nervously busy.

"That's quite a nervous habit you've got there. Why are you so nervous?" he asked, having noticed the way she messed with her hands from earlier in the Professor's office.

"Well…Ah…Ah wanted ta thank ya in a more proper way…" Jenny stuttered as she stepped even closer. Logan took his hand out of his pocket and put it on her shoulder. Then he removed the one from the wall to caress her face. He bent her face up and leaned down to kiss her. He waited, letting her decide if this was really what she wanted to do. He wasn't even sure if this was what she had been meaning.

But, sure enough, she lifted herself the last few inches to touch her lips to his. He pulled her close and she laid her hands on his chest, feeling his strong muscles beneath her hands. As they pull away, she smiles up at him. She leans forward and plants one more soft, quick kiss on his lips before moving away from him.

"Goodnight, Logan. Sleep well," she whispered with a smile as she opened her door and slipped inside. He sighed and walked back to his room. As he entered, he thought of everything that had just happened. His wall had fallen, crumbling into tiny pieces and he had just kissed the only girl that had ever made said wall fall. He reached for a cigar, looked at for a moment, and then returned it before crawling into bed, thinking of his read headed tiger. He wasn't ready to admit love yet, but there was definitely something very special between them and they could both feel it.

"Goodnight, Jenny," he whispered as he drifted to sleep.